AOLC Blog

Creeping Charlie and henbit are two kinds of “ground ivy” in the mint family, with bad reputations for taking over lawns and gardens with their spreading stems. BUT they are also some of the earliest food sources for spring pollinators and beneficial insect predators looking for nectar. AND when you sit quietly and look closely, their flowers are delicate and gorgeous miniature trumpets, offering welcome color before most other plants have started to green up from winter.

The Learning Center’s Farmer Training Initiative would like to introduce the new participants in our Farm Asset Builder program for 2015, the second year of this program.  Farm Asset Builder is a matched savings account program in which participants’ savings toward an approved farm asset are matched in a two-to-one ratio while they participate in a customized menu of financial management education and technical assistance opportunities.

Penny Peterson, Wishful Acres Farm
“Wishful Acres Farm began as a "wish" over 10 years ago, and became a reality in 2009. Our small family farm consists of several acres...

On Valentine’s Day 2015, a happy crowd gathered at the Chicago High School for Agriculture Sciences for the 3rd annual Urban Livestock Expo. Sponsored by Angelic Organics Learning Center with partners Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA) and the Chicagoland Chicken Enthusiasts, the Expo offered visitors intensive sessions on raising chickens, ducks, goats, rabbits, quails, honeybees, and solitary bees in their backyards.

- Presenter Abe Lentner’s daughter Lucy showed off her ribbon-winning ducks.
- Ryan Detwiler shared his enthusiasm for Coturnix quails (which he and husband Corey Gilson call “kitchen chickens”) while Corey greeted visitors eager...

The Rockford Urban Initiative announces its 2015 Cares & Shares CSA program, coordinated by our committed Youth Leaders! Our 10-week summer share provides you with clean, healthy, dazzling vegetables (and sometimes melons!) every Wednesday, all of which is grown, harvested, and packed by Rockford youth.

Locally grown produce and agriculture has seen a recent surge in popularity. Consumers enjoy a fresh, sustainable, and often organic product that supports their local communities. This demand for local food has encouraged more young people to take up farming as a career. One of these farmers, Jessica Rinks of Purple Leaf Farms, will be recognized with the 3rd annual Beginning Farmer of the Year Award at the opening symposium of the Good Food Festival & Conference on Friday, March 20, 10:15 AM at Chicago’s UIC Forum.

In search of a fun and informative Valentine’s Day excursion? What says "I love ewe" better than taking your date to the Urban Livestock Expo? Angelic Organics Learning Center, Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA), and the Chicagoland Chicken Enthusiasts will present the 3rd Annual Urban Livestock Expo on February 14, 2015, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHAS) at 3857 W. 111th Street in Chicago.

The Expo offers new and experienced keepers of urban livestock the chance to learn about caring for a variety of animals, and to...